Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data shows that this pairing is capable of very high performance, but the way performance scales across resolutions reveals a system that is balanced in some situations and clearly limited by one component in others. This analysis uses only the provided benchmark results to explain what those numbers mean for a builder considering this exact CPU and GPU pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop between 1080p and 4K is substantial. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 233 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 188 FPS, and at 4K Low the average falls to 138 FPS. That represents a 95 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low, or roughly a 41% reduction in average frame rate. The scaling is not linear, though, and the steepest drop occurs between 1080p and 1440p, where the average falls by 45 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 50 FPS, which is similar in absolute terms but proportionally smaller relative to the starting point.

At High settings, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. The 1080p High average is 136 FPS, 1440p High is 110 FPS, and 4K High is 81 FPS. That is a 55 FPS total drop from 1080p to 4K, with the 1080p-to-1440p step accounting for 26 FPS and the 1440p-to-4K step accounting for 29 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the same shape: 130 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data recorded, and at 1080p it averages 181 FPS with a min of 154 FPS and a max of 208 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 146 FPS with a min of 124 FPS and a max of 168 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 108 FPS with a min of 92 FPS and a max of 124 FPS.

The key observation from this scaling is that the frame rate does not collapse at 4K the way it would if the GPU were severely underpowered. Instead, the RTX 4090 keeps the game very playable at every resolution, even at Ultra settings where 4K still averages 77 FPS. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 233 FPS while 4K Low stays at 138 FPS suggests that the GPU is doing more work at higher resolutions, but the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p Low because the frame rate is still extremely high. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (95 FPS) is larger than the drop at Ultra (53 FPS), which indicates that at lower quality presets the GPU is less stressed and the CPU can push more frames, but at higher presets the GPU workload becomes the dominant factor. This is typical behavior for a high-end GPU paired with a strong mid-range CPU.

The limiting component shifts with settings. At Low presets, the CPU is likely the ceiling at 1080p, since the GPU is powerful enough to render simple scenes very quickly. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the average FPS drops to 77, which is still smooth but far below the 233 FPS seen at 1080p Low. The data does not include individual CPU or GPU utilization percentages, but the FPS pattern alone tells the story: this combo is GPU-bound at 4K and more CPU-bound at 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific pairing in Microsoft Flight Simulator is 67 out of 2996 tested combinations. That places it in the top 2.2% of all combos in the database, which is an exceptionally strong showing. The rank is based on measured FPS across the tested resolutions and settings, and a rank of 67 out of 2996 means that only 66 other CPU-GPU pairings performed better in this game. This is not surprising given the RTX 4090 is one of the most powerful GPUs available, and the Ryzen 7 9700F is a modern 8-core processor.

To put that rank in perspective, the CPU alone has a percentile of 94 among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 94% of all tested processors in general benchmarks. The GPU has a percentile of 88 among all GPUs. When combined, the pair ranks higher than either component individually suggests, which indicates that the CPU and GPU complement each other well in this title. The CPU’s nearest rivals in general benchmark scores are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX with an average score of 69,875 and a delta of 0.2%, the Intel Core i7-14700KF with 70,163 and a delta of -0.2%, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with 69,515 and a delta of 0.7%, and the Intel Core i7-14700K with 69,355 and a delta of 0.9%. These deltas are all within 1% of the 9700F’s average benchmark score of 69,996, meaning the CPU is squarely in the same performance class as those four rivals. The GPU’s nearest rivals in general benchmarks are the Intel Arc Pro A60 with an average score of 60,326 and a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 60,140 and a delta of 0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M with 61,896 and a delta of -2.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 with 58,657 and a delta of 2.9%. Those deltas are larger, but the RTX 4090’s average benchmark score of 60,347 is still higher than most of them.

The rank of 67 out of 2996 is a strong indicator that this combo is well-suited for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It also suggests that the 9700F is not holding back the RTX 4090 significantly, because if the CPU were a major bottleneck, the combo would rank lower relative to other pairings with faster CPUs. The fact that this combo ranks in the top 3% of all tested combos means that the 9700F provides enough processing power to let the RTX 4090 stretch its legs in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why the FPS numbers are so high. It has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, which yields a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. That is a massive amount of bandwidth, which matters in a flight simulator because the game streams large textures and terrain data. The memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, and the base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The GPU has 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units, along with 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 82.58 TFLOPS, which is a huge amount of compute power.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU’s role is to render the complex scenes, including detailed aircraft models, terrain, and weather effects. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 77 FPS, which is remarkable for such a demanding game at that resolution. At 4K High, the average is 81 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 108 FPS. The 24 GB of VRAM is likely more than enough for this game, as even at 4K Ultra the data shows no signs of memory-related stuttering or frame drops, since the min FPS at 4K Medium is 92 FPS and the average is 108 FPS. The GPU’s high memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming does not become a bottleneck, which is critical in a game that constantly loads new scenery as the player flies.

The RTX 4090’s benchmark scores reinforce its strength. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 9,223, its Geekbench OpenCL score is 255,416, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 271,631. The Passmark G3D score is 38,194, and the Passmark GPU compute score is 26,613. These are all top-tier scores, and the GPU’s percentile of 88 among all GPUs confirms that it is in the upper echelon. The nearest rival GPUs in the database are not direct gaming competitors; they are professional or workstation cards like the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M and the AMD Radeon PRO V710, which have lower average scores. This indicates that in general benchmarks, the RTX 4090 is far ahead of most other GPUs, and its performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator reflects that.

The data shows that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of the high FPS numbers at 4K. Without a GPU this powerful, the 4K Ultra average of 77 FPS would be much lower. The GPU’s 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are not performance metrics, but they indicate the physical demands of the card. The 16-pin power connector and suggested 850 W PSU are also not measured performance, but they are relevant for a builder planning a system.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 130 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Medium performance compare to 4K High?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 108, while at High settings it is 81 FPS. That is a 27 FPS difference in favor of Medium.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings in this game?

A: The combo ranks 67 out of 2996 tested combinations, which places it in the top 2.2% of all pairings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 124 FPS, with an average of 146 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Low?

A: The 1080p Low average is 233 FPS, while the 4K Low average is 138 FPS. That is a 95 FPS difference, or about a 41% reduction.

Q: What is the CPU’s average benchmark score and how does it compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69,996. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, scores 69,875, which is a delta of 0.2%, meaning the 9700F is slightly ahead.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it uses the AMD Socket AM5. The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The process node is 4 nm from TSMC, with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. This is a modern, efficient processor, and its benchmark scores reflect that.

In general benchmarks, the 9700F scores 36,470 in Passmark multithread, 4,691 in Passmark single-thread, 77,955 in floating point math, and 120,788 in integer math. The Passmark physics score is 2,122, and the data compression score is 421,988. The average benchmark score is 69,996, and the CPU has a percentile of 94 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are all high-end processors: the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and the Intel Core i7-14700K. The deltas are all smaller than 1%, meaning the 9700F performs within a percentage point of those chips in general workloads.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU’s role is significant because the game simulates physics, flight models, and AI traffic, all of which are CPU-intensive. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (233 FPS) is likely limited by the CPU, because the RTX 4090 can render simple scenes much faster than that. The fact that the 9700F has 8 cores and 16 threads is beneficial, as the game can use multiple threads for different simulation tasks. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz is also important for single-threaded performance, which the game relies on for some calculations. The Passmark single-thread score of 4,691 is strong, and it helps explain why the combo can achieve such high frame rates at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is adequate for feeding the RTX 4090, which has its own 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The 32 MB of L3 cache is also a decent amount, though not as large as some other high-end CPUs. The 9700F’s benchmark scores show that it is not a bottleneck in this game, because the combo ranks 67 out of 2996, and the CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 1% of its performance. If the CPU were weak, the rank would be lower, as the GPU would be held back. The data suggests that the 9700F is a capable match for the RTX 4090 in this title, especially at 4K where the GPU is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and the desired frame rate. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 77 FPS, which is playable but not extremely high. Dropping to High at 4K only improves the average to 81 FPS, a gain of just 4 FPS. However, dropping to Medium at 4K brings the average up to 108 FPS, which is a much more significant improvement of 31 FPS over Ultra. The Medium preset also has a recorded minimum of 92 FPS, which means that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 90 FPS. For a smooth 4K experience, Medium is the clear recommendation, as it offers a large FPS boost over High and Ultra with only a moderate visual quality reduction.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 105 FPS, which is already very smooth. High at 1440p averages 110 FPS, and Medium averages 146 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High is only 5 FPS, but the jump from High to Medium is 36 FPS. If the user prioritizes frame rate, Medium at 1440p provides an excellent 146 FPS average with a minimum of 124 FPS. If visual fidelity is more important, Ultra at 1440p at 105 FPS is still a great experience. The 1440p Medium setting seems to be the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors, as it exceeds 144 FPS on average.

At 1080p, all presets are playable, but the differences are notable. Ultra averages 130 FPS, High averages 136 FPS, Medium averages 181 FPS, and Low averages 233 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a massive improvement over High (45 FPS) and Ultra (51 FPS), while still looking decent. For users with a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, Medium at 1080p is the best choice, as it averages 181 FPS and has a minimum of 154 FPS. Low at 1080p reaches 233 FPS, which is ideal for extreme refresh rates, but the visual quality trade-off is significant. The data shows that Medium is the most balanced preset across all three resolutions, offering the largest FPS gain over the higher presets while maintaining acceptable visuals.

The recommendation is to use Medium settings for the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, especially at 4K where the difference between Medium and Ultra is 31 FPS. At 1440p and 1080p, Medium still provides the highest average FPS among the presets that are not Low, making it the most sensible default. For users who want the highest visual quality, Ultra at 1440p or 1080p is viable, but at 4K, Ultra should only be used if 77 FPS is acceptable. The measured data does not include any DLSS or upscaling information, so these recommendations are based solely on the native rendering performance. Given that the RTX 4090 is very powerful, the Medium preset allows the combo to run at high frame rates without pushing the GPU to its limits, which could also help with thermal and power management.